When people ask why they should grow their own food, one of the top reasons I give is because of the chemicals and pesticides that are used to treat our food.
Just because you are growing your own, doesn’t mean that you aren’t using chemicals and the toxic crap like Miracle Grow, but it means that you have more control over it.
Yes the pesticides might be getting rid of the pests and insects, but what else are they doing?
You don’t rinse off chemicals
It’s not as simple as using some water and washing the item off. My grandmother used to (and still does) tell me to do that. Ok, Gram I’m just going to wash off the chemicals that have been sprayed with a quick rinse under the water?!??
Chemicals don’t make sense
Using chemicals and pesticides to treat the produce just doesn’t make sense to me on any level. I don’t want that stuff on my food and getting into my body. Would you take a bottle of chemicals and just chug them? So why would you eat them?
If you look at our society and the health problems that we are facing, then look at the increase use of these toxins over the years, there is a heavy correlation. Just sayin.
I’ve started to read the book Organic Manifesto by Maria Rodale and here are some interesting things I’ve learned:
- More than 80,000 new chemical compounds have been introduced since World War II. Many of which are now used in agriculture.
- To feed our demand for cheap food, we’ve put ourselves and our children’s lives at risk.
- In the animal world, alligator’s penises are shrinking. This can be tied to increased pesticide usage.
Those are just a few things that I’ve pulled from the book early on and it’s some serious shit to be thinking about. The food that we are eating and the way that it’s being grown is having a serious effect on us and the animal kingdom.
In the past 100 or so years, we have bombarded our bodies with all these new toxins and it’s not sure how to react.
There is an alligator waddling around somewhere right now with a small penis because of you. New abnormalities in humans are emerging as well.
You have the control
By growing your own or sourcing your food from farmers markets, you can control of or can ask the grower directly how the food is treated.
If you are using a product, find out what the ingredients are and don’t just read the marketing hype on the label. It’s your health that’s at stake.
Step away from the chemical gardening and chemically produced foods.
What’s your thoughts on chemical use in gardening and agriculture?